Praedicator

Verba

Monday, April 5, 2010 - Monday in the Octave of Easter

[Acts 2:14, 22-33 and Matthew 28:8-15]

God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.

It is amazing how quickly word can spread of an event in our day because of the communications technology that exists. The internet is one of the wonders of the world! When we want to "spread the message," "pass it on," "get the word out" the process is certainly easier than in Jesus' day! In fact, the method used in his time remained roughly the same among humans until the invention of the telegraph, telephone and steam engine! However, even if the method of communicating the message has changed, the message remains the one quoted above: God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.
The next few days will present us with various examples of the early preaching of the Christian community. Even though the scriptures which describe this preaching were all put into writing after the event of Pentecost, we are told of some of the confusion, hurt and "mixed messages" that were floating around in the immediate aftermath of the resurrection of the Lord and for years afterward. Today's gospel scripture from Matthew describes the "spin" the religious authorities would try to disseminate about the empty tomb! The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus describes the hopes and dreams that seemed, at least initially, to have been shattered. It took awhile for folks to reflect on what happened and to realize its meaning in the light of the only scripture available at the time, the Old Testament! We who have the "New Testament" in addition to the older are still engaged in that task of understanding! The one thing we can all say is: God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.
Over the next few days, we will see the efforts to "stay on message" and the development of the early preaching which scripture scholars have called kerygmatic (a heralding). Given that human heralds were the primary way of making information public till the printing press came along, the word is really apt. The fact remains that human heralds are still the most effective way of getting this message out. Maybe we will use our cell phones or computers or whatever new device is on the market to spread the word, but these devices will sit still until we use them, and the message is the same one: God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA! AMEN